It is known that robots are used for industrial applications, such as manufacturing, welding or palletizing for example. Robots can include robot manipulators having several robot manipulator segments which are connected with hinged joints to a kinematic chain to form a robot arm. Such a robot manipulator might be electrically or hydraulically powered for example. At the tip of such a robot arm, having for example five to seven degrees of freedom in movement, an end-effector can be provided, for example a gripper tool or a welding gun or such. A robot controller might be foreseen, which controls the movements of the robot manipulator according to a robot program.
Robots can be arranged within a protected environment, for example within a factory building, whereas the environment temperature of the robot might be in a range of 15° C. to 35° C., dependent on the frame conditions. Robots for welding might be suitable also for higher temperatures of their working environment. Thus, robots can be designed for a use under certain environmental conditions.
Many robots are not foreseen for use within a cold environment, for example within a freezer room for food or within cold rooms for environmental testing facilities. Many endangered components of a robot manipulator system concerning operation in such a low-temperature environment are for example the drive components, such as motors, gears, breaks, rubber sealings, resolvers or bearings, and electronic components. But also application specific additional devices such as cameras or headlights can be temperature critical components.
Based on this state of the art it would be desirable for robots with robot manipulator systems to operate also in a colder environment, for example 0° to −20° C. and below.